Earthrace powerboat seeks world record
By Staff | March 24, 2008
Earthrace is a 78-ft long wave-piercing trimaran powerboat that runs as a carbon neutral project, exclusively on 100 percent biodiesel. The boat will start an attempt to break the round the world speed record on March 29, from Sagunto, Spain, where she is currently undergoing a full pre-record refit.
Source: Earthrace
Thanks to support from the composite materials industry, Earthrace has been able to be completely re-fitted before starting her world record attempt. While DIAB Group (Laholm, Sweden) have provided Divinycell structural cores, Sigmatex UK Ltd. (Runcorn, U.K.) and Formax UK Ltd. (Leicester, U.K.) have given the project the carbon fiber that was desperately needed for this non profit venture.
Skipper Pete Bethune explains, “We are doing the refit at the Vulkan Shipyard in Sagunto and it’s a massive undertaking. Earthrace has already travelled around 70,000 nautical miles, visited 87 different marinas, and had more than 80,000 people on board during the pre-record tour and the first attempt. Without the incredible support of all these companies, the boat wouldn’t be in any state to take on a global challenge to break the world speed record and we’re enormously grateful.”
DIAB products were used on the current record holding boat, Britain’s ‘Cable and Wireless Adventurer’ who took the record in a time of 75 days ten years ago in 1998. Since then, there have been five other attempts, including the first by Earthrace which took place in 2007 but which was stopped after storm damage sustained by bad weather in the Mediterranean.
The not for profit project is run as a carbon neutral enterprise, making it one of the world’s most environmentally-friendly powerboats. The crew aim to secure the world speed record to create greater awareness of biofuel from sustainable sources as part of the solution to counter damage to the environment through fossil fuels, and to promote the need for everyone to lead sustainable lives.
